Governor attachment for impellers



April 27, 1943.

T. M. KUEI-IINI 2,317,778

sovmmon ATTACHMENT FOR IMPELLERS Filed May a, 1941 I Patented Apr. 27, 1943 UNITED STATES i FF {C E 2,317,7-'78- GOVERNOR ATTACHMENT FOR IMPELLERS .TheadoreM..iKuehn, Nara Visa, N. Mex.

Application'MaYIS, I941,-'-Seria l No.. 392,549

3 Cla'ims.

Thisinventionrelates to a novel construction of governor for impellers, and .more'particularly to a governor for use .on wind impellers such as those employed for driving electric generators, and where it isradvisabletollimit therspeedrof rotation of theimpller.

iMoreparticularlmit is an-aim-of the invention to'provideia governor which willunotlonly "function toprevent the impeller from exceeding 'a certain speed but will also function 'to assist 'the impeller to operate as nearlyaslposs'ible to its desired maximum "speed so that whereas the governor will function efficiently to retard the speed of rotation of the impeller "afterithas reached its maximumspeed, as for example in high winds, it will also function to increase the speed of the impeller'where it is operating-below its maximum speed, as for example "in *a light breeze.

Still another aim of the inventionistoprovide a governor attachment of simple construction capable of'being'economically manufactured and sold andwhich may 'be'readily'attached to pom ventional wind impellers already in use and which will operate Iefliciently "at all times and require slight'atten'ti'on andrepair. Still-another aim of the invention -is to pro- '-vide a governor which can be :readily adjusted to vary the speed 'at which it will permit the impeller to operateto compensate Jfor variations in loads that might be placed upon 'the impeller.

Other objects and advantages of'thein-vention will hereinafter become more 'fullyiapparent from the following description :of the drawing, which illustrates a preferred emb'odiment' thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary iront elevation at view showing the governor applied to -a conventional wind-impeller,

.Figure -2 is an enlarged fragmentary 'view ol the same, showing the cover for 'dustca'p =removed,

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional 'dew taken'substantiallylalong the: plane :of :therlinetB-id-dfiFigure .2, showing the cover or dust. *Jc'ap incentral vertical section in an applied position, :and

Figure 4 is an enlarged longitudinal horizontal sectional view taken substantially 'along the 'plane of the line 4-4 of :Figure 1.

direction. The 'bladesl-3, in the embodiment of the'inventionas illustrated, are pitched to cause 'th'e'impeller to revolve in a-clockwise direction, tas'seen in;Figure 1. Theparts previously described are of conventional construction and are illustratedand described merely to illustrate the application of the speed governing attachment, designated generally l l an'd comprising the linvention. 'Theg'governor 14 includes a plate I5 which is secured :to the .hub H by 'fastenings l6, and :whi'ch'is disposed on the outer "side thereof. Bearings H are iconnectedby fastenings 18 to the back "side "of the plate 1.5, andare disposed sul'xstantially at rightangles to the 'two blades 13. Thepairof bearings I1 .folm journals for shafts 19 which *form the :sh'anks or .roots of governor blades 2ll'whicl1 are secured at their inner'ends by fastenings M to the outer ends of theshafts f9 and whichproject in opposite directions relativelyto 'on'eanother and which are disposed substantially at right "angles to the impellerbla'des 1-3. The shafts 19 are also journaled inbus'hings2 2 'whi'ch'are connectedto the bearings 1 1 and-which project outwardly therefrom. Bearings l1 *arepreferablyprovidedwith anti fricti'on bearingsi3' forj ournaling the shafts l '9, andasbest seen in Figure efthexsha'fts l9 are provided with collars which are disposed within thebearings I1. 'Saidcollars "2'4 are rotatably mcuntedin-the bearings IL'andLare provided with arms 25 which project outwardly therefrom through elongated slots 26in the plate [5. The slots 26 are disposed crosswise to the shafts 'l'9 so that the arms 25 'may be swung therein for turning the governor'blades 28 on their longitudinal axes to change the pitch of sai'd blades,

=A stud or pin 21 proj ects outwardly from the *centerof the forward side of the'plate t5 and an elongated lever 28 is pivotally mounted intermediate of "its ends on *the stud 21 and is detach-- ab-1y (retained 'in position thereon by 'nuts or other suitable means 29. The'arms Z'Eareprovide'd at their-outer, free endswith balls 36, and the lever' 28 is provided at its-ends with outwardly projecting balls 3|. The "adjacently disposed balls '35 and 3! are connected by means of links -32'having socket portions "33 in "the ends thereof for -engaging the balls 38 and 3!. The links '32 arerpre'ferably divided longitudinally into correspondin-gsections 34 which are connected inter =me'diate "of their ends by fastenings .35 to permit the --liriks 32 to be readily applied 'or removed.

A pair of correspondinggovernor members -735 are 'pivotally connected at corresponding ends r thereof at 3'lto theforwarcl side of the plate l5.

The governor members 35 'arepivotaily connected at Slat diametrically opposed pointscadjacent to "and on opposite sides of the bearings 1?. .Each of the governor members 36 includes a long end 38, said long ends 138 being pivoted at 3? and extending .inwardly (from their pivots toward *the 7 blades.

axis of the impeller blades I3. The ends 38, at their opposite, adjacent terminals, merge with the opposite, shorter ends 39 of the governor members 36 which are disposed substantially at right angles to the ends 38 and project therefrom in opposite directions to one another, as best seen in Figure 2. The ends 39 are provided m'th weighted enlargements 46 at their outer termi-- rials. A pair of links 4| are each connected pivotally at one end to the lever 28 adjacent an end thereof, and said links are each pivotally connected at their opposite ends to a governor member 36, intermediate of its end 39 so that each of the governor members 36 is connected by a link 4| to an end of the lever 28. A pair of brackets 42 are attached to the outer side of the plate I 5, said brackets being disposed in diametrically opposed relationship to one another and adjacent the periphery of the plate I and adjacent the axes of the blades I3. The brackets 42 are attached to the plate by fastenings 43, and are provided with outwardly projecting ends 44 having openings 45 through which threaded bolts 46 loosely extend,and an expansion coil spring 41 is attached at one end to the inner, adjacent end of each of the bolts 46 and the opposite ends of the contractile coil springs 41 are connected to the lever 28, adjacent its ends, said springs 41 being disposed adjacent the links 4| which are attached to the governor members 36 which are disposed on the opposite side of the lever 28. A nut 48 is carried by the outer end of each of the bolts 46, said nuts engaging against the outer sides of the portions 44 andbeing adjustable for adjusting the tension of the springs 41. V

A dome shaped dust cap 49 is detachably connected to the periphery of the plate I5 and projects outwardly from the forward side thereof to enclose parts mounted on the forward side of the plate I5.

When the parts carried by the plate I5 are in the positions, as seen in Figure 2, the impeller I2 is idle, and in this position the blades 26 are pitched in the same direction as the impeller blades I3 so that they will cooperate with the blades I3 and function as impeller blades. As the speed of rotation of the blades I3 increases the ends 39 of the governor members 36 are urged outwardly relatively to one another by centrifugal force and against the action ofthe springs 4'! to thereby turn the lever 28 in a clockwise direction to cause the shafts I9 and the governor blades 20 to be rotated on their axes in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in Figure 3, which will decrease the pitch of the governor blades 26 to thereby reduce their When the impeller I2 reaches its maximum desired operating speed the ends 39 of the governor members 33 will have been swung outwardly sufliciently so that the blades 20 will be in non-pitched positions, and if the. speed of rotation of the impeller I2 increases beyond this point the lever 28 will be caused to turn still further in a clockwise direction for continuing the rotation of the blades 29 on their longitudinal axes to cause them to be pitched in the opposite direction to the impeller blades I3 so that they will act to retard the rotation of the impeller I2 efiiciency as impeller and to prevent it from exceeding its desired maximum speed. As the speed of rotation of the impeller I2 diminishes the springs 41 will tend to turn the lever 28 in a counterclockwise direction to retract the governor members 36 to return the blades 20 toward their original positions,

pitched in the same directions 'as the impeller blades I3. It will be obvious, that by increasing the tension of the springs 41 by tightening the nuts 48, that the action of the centrifugal governor members 36 will be retarded to permit the impeller I2 to turn at a greater speed before the governor blades 29 begin to retard the rotation of the impeller or by loosening the nuts 43 to decrease the tension of the springs 41 the centrifugal governor members can act more promptly to cause the governor blades 20 to begin to retard the speed of rotation of the impeller I2 at a lower speed.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to as only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed.

I claim as my invention:

' 1. A governor attachment for wind impellers comprising a supporting member adapted to be attached to the center of a wind impeller, bearings attached to the rear side of said supporting member, governor blades having shanks journaled in said bearings, said blades projecting outwardly in opposite directions relatively to one another, arms secured to and projecting fromthe shanks of said governor blades, a lever pivotally connected intermediate of its ends to said supporting member, links connecting the ends of said to change the pitch of the impeller blades when the governor members are actuated by centrifugal force.

2. A governor attachment as in claim 1, said governor blades being initially pitched in the same direction as the impeller blades to normally function as additional impeller blades, and said centrifugal governor members being operative to reduce the pitch of the governor blades as the speed of rotation of the impeller increases, and to move the governor blades into positionsso that they will be pitched in the opposite direction to the impeller blades when the speed of rotation of the impeller exceeds a certain speed.

3. A governor attachment for impellers comprising a support attached to the hub portion of an impeller, governor blades having shank ends journaled in the support, said governor blades extending radially from the support and being spaced fromthe blades of the impeller and normally pitched in the same direction to provide supplementary impeller blades, said governor blades being turnable on their longitudinal axes, a lever pivotally mounted intermediate of its ends on the support, said shank ends being provided with cranks, links connecting the free ends of the cranks to the ends of the lever so that when the lever is swung on its pivot the governor blades will be rotated on their axes to vary the pitch thereof, centrifugal governor members connected ORE M. KUEHN. 

